Fall rope carrier stop button



May 12, 1942. c. c. suNDERLAND FALL ROPE CARRIER STOP BUTTON Filed June5, 1940 ATTORNE j Patented May l12, 1942 FALL ROPE CARRIER STOP BUTTON-Charles C. Sunderland, New Brunswick, N. J., as-

signor to John A. Roeblings Sons Company, Trenton, N. J., a corporationof New Jersey Application June Y5, 1940, serial No. 338,924

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to fall rope carrier buttons and has forone object the provision of a fall rope carrier button capable ofsustaining severe shocks in either direction Without shifting inposition on its button stop rope.

Another object is to provide means which prevents the button fromshifting and accomplishes this result without causing damage to thebutton stop rope itself.

The invention comprises a novel form of clamp upon which button stopsvarying in external diameter may be secured in fixed relation.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention and in Which-Figure 1 is a side elevation showing, in a general view, the relation ofthe fall rope carrier button, load carriage, and fall rope carriers;

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional View through a fall ropecarrier button embodying the present invention;

Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view taken on theline 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an interior side elevation of one of the rope clamps;

Figure 5 is a transverse vertical section showing a cooperating pair ofsuch rope clamps before they are positioned together;

Figure 6 is a detail view showing the upper or button stop cooperatingportion of one of the fall rope carriers of Figurel.

Figures 'l and 8 are side elevations of fall rope carrier buttons on asmall scale, the construction being the same as in Figure 2 butillustrating the fact that the buttons are constructed with differentdiameters, the practice being, as viewed in Figure 1 for example, thatthe stop buttons from right to left thereof Wouldhave graduallyincreasing diameters.

Referring in detail to the drawing, and particularly toA Figure l, theload carriage II is provided with the usual wheels for cooperation withthe hoisting ropes I2, main cable C and button stop rope I4, thearrangement being such as to maintain the button stop rope I@ at alltimes equally distant from the main cable C in the vicinity of the loadcarriage.

The load carriage I I is provided as usual with the horn i3 whichsupports a-plurality of fall rope carriers I5 whose function is to bedetached from the load carriage as it travels from right to left, asviewed in Figure 1, at intervals determined by the spacing of the ropecarrier buttons I8 along the button stop vrope I4 and be supported bythe main cable C at`20 (Fig. 6) instead of the horn I3 at I9, thusproviding spaced supports for the hoisting ropes I2 and conveying ropesI2a from the main cable and at intervals along it.

It will be understood that the fall rope carriers I5, as viewed fromright to left in Figure 1, are provided with progressively largeropenings I6 (not shown) receiving the button stop rope I4 and thatspaced along the button stop rope from right to left, as viewed inFigure 1, is a series of progressively larger buttons I8 (only one beingshown), the rst of which functions tol detach the first (here the righthand) fall rope carrier; the second, or next larger button to the lleft, functions to detach the next outside fall rope carrier from thehorn, and so on. v

On return travel the horn I3 enters each fall rope carrier as it reachesit, so that each fall rope carrier is picked up in turn by the horn atI9 on return travel, that is, from left to right, as viewed in Figure 1,the impact shock being taken by the usual buffer I1 on the loadcarriage.

Inasmuch as these cableways operate at speeds of twelve hundred tofifteen hundred feet per minute or more, it can be seen that the buttonstops are subjected to constantlyrepeated severe shocks and that thebutton stops must be so constructed as to minimize the shocks to thebutton stop rope or cable, prevent creeping of the button stops fromright to left, even over long periods of time, and at the same timeaccomplish this result in such a Way that the button stop rope itself isnot damaged. It has been the practice in the past to endeavor to preventsuch creepage of the button stops by twisting the button stop rope orcable to open its strands, put in an insert and release the strands sothat they close over the insert, leaving an enlarged portion of thecable at that point to take up shock. It is also known to open the cablefurther to one side of such an insert and place therein a conicalinsert, thus providing a conically enlarged portion of the cable toreceive the shock thrusts communicated to it by the button stop.

While such devices have had the effect of preventing substantialcreepage of the button stops,

their deformation of the cable and the repeated shocks given to thecable at its deformed parts have caused sufcient damage to the cable toshorten its life very considerably.

It is one of the objects of this invention not only to prevent creepageof the button stop but to do so by means having no damaging effect onthe button stop rope or cable itself.

Referring to Figures 2 to 5 inclusive, a pair of generallysemi-cylindrical interltting sections 2| and 22 are provided, theinternal diameter of the assembled sections being such as to grip thebutton stop rope or cable I4 tightly. This inside diameter is preferablysuch as to require a compression tool for lining up the lugs 23 of eachsection with the recesses 24 of the other. Longitudinal aligned passages21 are provided through the intertting lugs of each section so that whenthey have been brought to properly assembled cable gripping relation -bymeans of the tool, a pin 29 may be thrust through each seriesI ofaligned openings and thereby retain the assembled cable grippingsections in desired relation.

Each cable gripping section, forming generally half a thick walledhollow cylinder, is provided with a series of internal projections 3|conforming to the lay of the cable strands, fitting in thecircumferential spaces between adjoining strands and each exerting a rmgrip on the cable therebetween.

At each end of the assembled cable gripping sections shock absorbingwashers are provided, such as the rubber washers 35, separated byrelatively thin metallic washers 31.

As already stated, the external diameters of successive stop buttonsincrease with each button on the button stop rope from right to left,

as viewed in Figure 1. Ihe diameters vary for example from thatJindicated in Figure 7 to that indicated in Figure 8, the largestdiameter portion in Figure 8 being indicated by the reference numeral|82.

Whatever the external diameter of any particular button stop, however,it is constructed interiorly as indicated in Figure 2 for cooperationwith the assembled cable gripping sections 2| and 22.

The part of portion |6a of the button stop that takes the shock ofdetaching a fall rope carrier is indicated at 39 in Figure 2, and thisportion |6a has a cylindrical interior to receive the assembled cablegripping sections 2|, 22, and one end group of shock absorbing washers.Its internal diameter is reduced beyond its washer receiving portion toreceive the button stop rope |4 in slidable relation therewith.

At its open end, in Fig. 2 the left end, the shock absorbing portion |6aof the button is interiorly threaded at 38 to receive the tapered nosesection 40. The parts are preferably maintained in threaded assembledrelation by a screw 42 whose head enters and is countersunk with respectto the shock absorbing portion |6a and whose threaded portion engagesthreads in an opening provided for it in the tapered nose section 40.

The relation of these parts is such that when assembled the entireassembly is rigid, and for this purpose the two parts of the button stopare proportioned so that they must be screwed tightly together beforescrew 42 can be inserted. Accordingly, the tapered nose portion 40 andthe shock absorbing portion Ilia are provided with radial openings 4'|and 48 respectively, for the reception of pin wrenches by means of whichthey may be given relative rotation.

It will be seen that by this construction an extremely tight grip issecured upon the button stop rope, and without deforming it radiallyoutwardly into enlarged portions. As a result the constructionwithstands severe shocks without having a tendency to destroy or damagethe button stop rope.

. What is claimed is:

1. A fall rope carrier button construction comprising cooperatingclamping members for gripping a button stop rope, and a two part fallrope carrier stop button having interior opposed compression seats andreceiving within it between said seats said cooperating clampingmembers.

2. A fall rope carrier button construction comprising cooperatingclamping members for gripping a button stop rope, said clamping membershaving interfitting projections and locking means cooperating with saidintertting projections for securing said members together in ropegripping relation, and a fall rope carrier stop button receiving withinit and secured to said clamping members.

3. A fall rope carrier button construction comprising cooperatingclamping members for gripping a button stop rope, each member having twosets of projections intertting with projections of the other, a pinpassing through each intertted set of projections securing said clampingmembers together in rope gripping relation, and a fall rope carrier stopbutton receiving within it and secured to said clamping members.

4. -A fall rope carrier button construction comprising exterternallycylindrical cooperating clamping members for gripping a button stoprope, said members having interior rope gripping projectionscorresponding to the lay of the rope, means for securing said clampingmembers vto- `gether in rope gripping relation, and a two part fall ropecarrier stop button having opposed end pressure exerting seats andreceiving Within it between said seats said clamping members, therebygripping said clamping members under pressure exerted axially of thebutton.

5. A fall rope carrier button construction comprising cooperatingclamping members for gripping a button stop rope, said members havinginterior rope gripping projections corresponding to the lay of the rope,each member having two sets of projections interfitting with projectionsof the other, a pin passing through each intertted set of projectionssecuring said clamping members together in rope gripping relation, and afall rope carrier stop button receiving within it and secured to saidclamping members.

6. A fall rope carrier button construction comprising cooperatingclamping members for gripping a button stop rope, a two part fall ropecarrier stop button secured to said cooperating clamping members, eachpart having a fall rope receiving portion and one part having an innerportion of greater diameter for receiving said clamping members, shockabsorbing washer means between one end of said clamping members and saidlast named stop button part and aligned with its fall rope receivingportion, and shock absorbing washer means between the other end of saidclamping members and the other stop button part and aligned with itsfall rope receiving portion.

7. A fall rope carrier button construction comprising cooperatingclamping members for gripping a button stop rope, said members havinginterior rope gripping projections corresponding to the lay of the rope,each member having two sets of projections interiitting with projectionsof the other, a pin passing through each intertted set of projectionssecuring said clamping members together in rope gripping relation, atwo-part fall rope carrier stop button secured to said cooperatingclamping members, each part having a fall rope receiving portion and onepart having an inner portion of greater diameter for receiving saidclamping members, shock absorbing Washer means between one end of saidclamping members and said last named `stop button part and aligned withits fall rope receiving portion, and shock absorbing Washer meansVbetween the other end of said clamping members and the other stop buttonpart and aligned with its fall rope receiving portion.

CHARLES C. SUNDERLAND.

